Tennis racquets have traditionally had an overall length between 26 and 28 inches, and presently most racquets are approximately 27 inches in length. It is not entirely clear why 27 inches became the industry standard, but it appears that 27 inches is an appropriate length to make a maneuverable yet stable tennis racquet.
British patent No. 2717 (1909) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,993, propose making tennis racquets with lengths longer than 27 inches. However, the reason for increasing the length is to allow the racquet to be held and swung with both hands. Such a racquet would tend to be unwieldy and unmanueverable, and a racquet that requires two hands to swing would not be well suited for today's game of tennis, which requires quick reflexes and racquet head movement to hit hard shots and serves.
To the contrary, U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,386, suggests that, if anything, the traditional 27 inch racquet should be shortened to improve maneuverability, playability, and accuracy in hitting the ball. Thus, the '386 patent discloses that even a 27 inch racquet may be too long, and lack sufficient maneuverability, for many players, and suggests reducing the length of the 27 inch racquet, at least for certain groups of tennis players.
In the last 30 years, there have been significant advances in tennis racquet design and materials. In 1976, the oversize racquet, based on U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,756, was introduced, which made the game much easier to play and popularized tennis to another level. Racquet frame material technology has also evolved, from wood to metal and eventually to composite materials. Since 1980, composite materials, e.g., so called "graphite", have become the dominant material used to make high performance tennis racquets due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, allowing racquets to be made lighter and more maneuverable.
Various racquet companies have tried to introduce racquets which are longer than the conventional 27 inch racquet, but all have failed. The main problem was that by making the racquet longer, it became heavier and less maneuverable. This occurred during an era where racquet companies were making, and players were demanding, racquets which were lighter and more maneuverable.